Abbey Monsalud MAATC, LPC, ATR-P (They/siya/she)

Abbey Monsalud is an art psychotherapist, licensed professional counselor, decolonial artist, and daydreamer based in the traditional homelands of the Anishinaabe, or Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations. They have experience working with children, adolescents, and adults, but primarily focuses on working with young adults and creatives who are navigating cultural identity, queerness, neurodivergence, relationship issues, anxiety, and depression.

Questions? abbey@forrealtherapy.com

INTERVIEW BIO WITH abbey monsalud

What are your roots? What are the things that root you? Why is understanding your roots important? 

If you were to unearth and shake the soil off of me like a plant, you would see how rooted I am to my motherland, the Philippines. When I visit, it’s always bittersweet: I feel yearning and grief, but also an overwhelming sense of comfort.

While growing up in Illinois’ suburbia as a Filipinx/a, I wasn’t surrounded by many people who looked like me. I found some solace within friends of like-minded cultures, but they didn’t fully feel like home. It wasn’t until my adult life that I have acknowledged the amalgamation of cultures that I am due to the colonization and diaspora of my people. I’ve learned how complex my roots are, yet I can still trace back through the tangles. 

I feel rooted in the Earth, which connects my relationship to clay. 

I feel a very deep and spiritual connection to natural elements of the earth such as clay. Clay has taught me so much of how to be human.

I feel rooted to the Filipina women in my life, especially my grandma, my mom and her sisters.

Their ways of being in relationship with each other cultivated my understanding of our collectivistic culture of kapwa and bayanihan. Bayanihan is the spirit of communal unity, work, and cooperation toward achieving a shared goal. Kapwa emphasizes the recognition of everyone’s humanity, connecting people instead of separating them.

These women in my life unapologetically share their creativity, wit, and rage, inspiring me to take up space and express myself authentically in my communities.

Why would you choose School of the Art Institute (SAIC) as your art therapy program?

Since I didn’t have much support in my artist identity as I grew older, I thought SAIC’s art therapy program seemed like a good choice due to its focus on supporting the “artist identity” of art therapists. At the start of the program, I was navigating a lot of imposter syndrome—I didn’t feel at all like an artist amongst my peers. I often asked myself, “What does it mean to be an artist?” This was a great internal struggle, but, with time, encouragement, and exploration, I realized how creativity was already so ingrained within me.

Additionally, I struggled with my own disillusionment and grew into a matured perspective of people, power, and politics. With this grief compounding with familial loss and the pandemic, I felt the need to deeply reflect, to go back and understand my roots. Immersion into an arts-focused space along with navigating grief and loss, gave me inspiration to turn inward and understand the intersections of my identity.

I am drawn to those navigating similar challenges, especially when it involves imposter syndrome and identity struggles. Many find themselves coming from unique backgrounds, exploring territories or experiences unknown to their family of origin. This could be leadership, participating in a creative arts program, or simply uncertainty with finding the right therapist. In these moments, they may feel a sense of abandonment, as if they are the only one, without barriers, boundaries, or support.

I am truly here to support you, to help you explore and embrace your unique identity through the therapeutic process. 

What can art therapy teach us about emotions, boundaries, self-care?

When someone experiences anxiety, depression, or goes through a significant transition due to loss of job, relationship, or moving, there might be a voice in your head saying: “This is it. This is the end of the road. I have run out of possibilities.” We can all become increasingly entrenched in this dynamic with ourselves and the  world around us.The significance of art therapy is that you can start over. 
You have the autonomy to do anything with your artwork. You can set its boundaries or expand its limits. You can share it, scrap it, burn it, or transform it into something else. It is up to you.

Art therapy respects self-agency, autonomy, and natural collaboration. Even if you were to remove me, the art therapist, from the room, you would still be collaborating with the art material or the idea you’d be making come to life. It is never in a completely isolated bubble; there is still a form of connection.

Why is it vital to envision other possibilities?

I often commiserate with others on the struggles of living in America, especially BIPOC womxn, first-gens, queer folk, and folks living with dis/ability: communities that have been historically under-resourced and pushed to the margins. Since people in power refuse to open their eyes to truth nor act with humanity, it’s vital that we choose to resist these patterns of harm and lean into our power of imagination and co-creativity. Imagining and creating different perspectives and worlds is something we are naturally able to do. Coming together and collaborating in an art therapy space is one of few places we get to reimagine, envision other possibilities, and enact change.

How has art informed your therapy - How was therapy informed your art?

Art has taught me about the importance of co-creativity in healing processes with people, critters, and nature. For instance, clay, as malleable as it is to handle when making pottery, has taught me that change is a constant truth. So much can go awry in the process of working with it, just as is the process of healing. This non-linear, unpredictable process challenges us to slow down and move with care towards ourselves and those around us.

What is your universal piece of advice?

Trust your intuition: You have a wealth of knowledge within you.